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Argosy to Set Sail in Cincinnati

Billed as the largest riverboat casino in the world, Argosy VI will soon dock in the tri-state. Gamblers will have three times more room to toss dice, shuffle cards and yank on slot machine levers. The boat is finishing test runs off the coast of Louisiana and then heads up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers for its final berth dockside in Lawrenceburg, Ind.

The Argosy VI is expected to arrive in mid-August or early September, depending on the length of time needed for test runs and inspections. The journey up from its current dock in Gibson, La. is expected to take about 14 days. The $36 million riverboat casino is three times larger than the current, temporary casino Argosy has used since opening gambling in Lawrenceburg in December. Company officials say the richly appointed Argosy VI is the largest self-propelled gambling boat in the world.

The boat is 408 feet long and visitors will be able to see almost that entire length while inside one of the ship's three floors of gaming. New nautical construction materials - upgraded for safety and fire standards - have eliminated the numerous bulkheads found in the current, older riverboat.

While Argosy officials would like to be set up in the new casino by Labor Day Weekend, that is not an exact target date.

Eventually Argosy officials expect to accommodate about 3 million visitors a year. New docking, entertainment and dining facilities are expected to be open at the Lawrenceburg dock in December followed by a 300-room hotel scheduled to open on the river during early 1998.

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